Acts 2:42-47
Notes
Transcript
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
What are the characteristics of people in the “honeymoon stage” of marriage?
What are the characteristics of people in the “honeymoon stage” of marriage?
everything is exciting, everything is new, living in the moment, down for anything any time, being obsessed, being vocal and demonstrative, getting along
A honeymoon stage can be beautiful and great but we know they don’t last.
It can fade away and sour
It can fade away and become ho hum
It can mature into a beautiful, fulfilling, fruitful, supportive and sustainable relationship
What we are looking at today is the honeymoon period of the early church
everything is exciting, everything is new, living in the moment, down for anything any time, being obsessed, being vocal and demonstrative, getting along
In a few chapters, we begin to see them move out of the honeymoon stage, and into the mature, beautiful, fulfilling, fruitful, supportive and sustainable stage but just like an old crusty buzzard like me can be encouraged and reminded by observing the honeymoon stage in marriage, the honeymoon stage of the early church can be instructive and challenging to us in our era
Today we are looking at the Characteristics of the early church. How did encountering Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit change them?
How did those effect the world they lived in?
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
“Devoted themselves to the apostles teaching”
“Devoted themselves to the apostles teaching”
How did this look in the early church?
How did this look in the early church?
The Apostles Taught About Jesus
The Apostles Taught About Jesus
The People Listened
The People Listened
(they likely talked about it with each other, asked questions, and went out of their way to hear more)
The People Applied What They Heard
The People Applied What They Heard
(you can tell the listened because they put it into practice as we can see in their radical lifestyle.
How should it look now?
How should it look now?
The apostles teaching that we have access to is the New Testament of the Bible so a healthy church MUST be devoted to reading, studying, knowing, and practicing the teachings of the apostles in the Bible
We preach the whole Bible expositionally
We offer more in-depth interactive opportunities
We read the Bible together
We sing the Bible to each other
We read the Bible on our own
“The Fellowship”
“The Fellowship”
How did this look in the early church?
How did this look in the early church?
44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
They were radically generous with their possessions and finances
They were radically generous with their possessions and finances
The turmoil of the early church mass conversions
They worshiped at the temple together
They worshiped at the temple together
They went into each others homes
They went into each others homes
How should it look now?
How should it look now?
We should be radically generous
We should be radically generous
1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.
We should worship together
We should worship together
19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
We should invite one another (and accept invitations) for hospitality
We should invite one another (and accept invitations) for hospitality
9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
“ The breaking of bread”
“ The breaking of bread”
How did this look in the early church?
How did this look in the early church?
46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
They shared meals
They shared meals
This is an outworking of generosity as well
They observed the Lord’s Supper
They observed the Lord’s Supper
How should it look now?
How should it look now?
We understand that food is very important to who we are as people.
We share meals twice a month as a part of our gatherings
We share meals twice a month as a part of our gatherings
We should invite each other into our homes for a meal
We should invite each other into our homes for a meal
“The prayers”
“The prayers”
How did this look in the early church?
How did this look in the early church?
Acts 2:46–47 (ESV)
they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God
They prayed continually with thanksgiving and praise. Later in acts we see the petitioning God (asking for things/asking for help/ asking for wisdom)
How should it look now?
How should it look now?
Personal prayer
Corporate prayer
Community prayer
As the community looked at the church what was the effect?
They Feared God
They Feared God
43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
Signs and Wonders
Apostles were given special ability to do miracles to validate their message.
Awe = The Fear of the Lord, respect, honor, acknowledgment of his existence and power
It makes me think of the sun, we should “fear” the sun
They Thought Well of the Believers
They Thought Well of the Believers
Acts 2:47 (ESV)
47a praising God and having favor with all the people…
We should not Live our lives, or craft or ministries to make the world happy. Not very many verses from now in Acts the community is going to turn on the church.
BUT the Bible tells us that we are supposed to live our lives in such a way that we make Jesus look good
6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
Let the cheater no longer cheat, let the womanizer no longer womanize, let the fill-in-the-blank no longer fill-in-the-blank
If people have a negative word to say about Jesus, let it be, because of their own sin blinded hearts, and not the roughshod unloving, uncharitable, selfish prideful actions of those who claim to be the children of God.
The loving friendships, family stability marital healthiness, financial peace, joy, etc…which all SHOULD characterize a believer, should be attractive to people on some primal level.
Yes, people are blinded and dead in sin, But there is within mankind, a desire for something greater, a desire to return to what was lost in the garden so when Christian lives are echoes of Eden, that should be attractive to people who are far off.
They Believed in Jesus
They Believed in Jesus
Acts 2:47 (ESV)
47b …And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
When people see the power of God displayed, and they see the gospel lived out, and they hear the gospel faithfully explained people WILL come to know Jesus as their savior.
When the church lives that way, God will add people to their number….
So What?
So What?
Are you radically transformed?
Are you radically transformed?
How do the people of Sandusky think about Jesus because of Sandusky Life Church?
How do the people of Sandusky think about Jesus because of Sandusky Life Church?